(Hey guys!! So sorry about the delay in posting chapters. I've been working on the end of the story and I'm going mad because I can't fix on one :P
I can't help imagine Dev having the same expression as Bubbles in this gif - with ref to this chapter. You'll see why - but it's so funny.
Anyway - without further ado, here is the chapter :D
Remember to vote and comment okay? Thanks ^_^ )
I was helping Ma clear the table after dinner when my phone rang, signalling the routine call that Dev and I made to each other these days. Officially we weren't that close except for the Smile Café project for the Nairs, but personally, we had been getting along surprisingly comfortably. Which is why, calls with any developments in the plan, or the "restaurant issue" as we now called it - actually, calls between us, in general - were not a surprise anymore.
"Dev - Sorry. I'll need to call you back", I said and when he agreed, I cut the call. When I walked back into the kitchen with the last of the utensils, Ma had her back to me.
"Was that Dev?" she asked me.
"Yeah - I told him I'll call him once we're done", I said, putting away the curd into the fridge.
"Dee - I'm not going to beat around the bush.. I need to ask you something", she says.
Always not one for any frills or follies - a trait I am glad to have inherited from her - I say to Ma, "Shoot.. Anything."
"Shoot what?!" she asks me, borderline shocked.
"Oh Gods - Ma.. I meant - ask away, Mother Dearest", I explain.
Shaking her head, she says, "I will never be able to get a grip on the ever-changing language of the world" and I chuckle.
"So.. You wanted to ask me something," I say, wiping the counter.
"Hmm.. yeah. I've been getting the feeling that you and Dev have something going on. I don't want to play games, but I hope you will tell me if there is something", she says, putting together some dessert for all of us.
"Are you seriously nervous to ask me about Dev?" I asked, unable to hold back my laughter.
"Well - how am I to know what way you'll take it? Spare me, please," she says with mock indignation. As a second thought, she adds, "I mean - you guys clearly have some sort of chemistry or how do I say it? Like a connect.. And literally anyone can see that.. So.. I was just.. Asking", she finishes.
"Ma - Dev and I are very good friends. As you say, there is definitely a 'spark' there - but a few of things are in the way:
One, I don't want rush headlong into something, you know.. given the twisted, complicated past we share. I really don't need another reason for Harsh to hate Dev, even if he's as good a friend of mine as Harshu's now.
Two, we're colleagues and I don't want to make our professional lives suffer because of our personal lives - so as long as he's my boss on paper... you've brought me up to be more ethical than that", I explain. By now, she has finished making a platter of fruits to serve with dessert.
"Is that it?" she asks me, clearly fishing for something.
"Ugghh - Fine. I do want to pursue it maybe after we're done with Nair Aunty's café.. and maybe by then, I'll know for sure if I'm the only one who feels the connection or if it's mutual", I confess. I don't feel particularly comfortable having said this aloud, but the look on Ma's face tells me otherwise.
Ma looked like she wanted to say something but changed her mind and took a long pause.
"You know, I can't help wonder where the little girl in two braids - convincing me to buy her an ice-cream at the park - has disappeared", Ma says, with a slight shake of her head. Moving closer to me, she says, "But I am proud of your rational bearings in dealing with life."
"Maaaa... Deee.... You're auditioning for Master Chef or what? Hurry, pleeeeaasseee?" Harsh called from the dining table.
Picking up her tray, Ma walks away to serve Papa and Harsh the dessert while calling out, "In a minute."
Since I had my bowl of dessert with me and not particularly fond of any of the fruits in the platter I stepped out of the backdoor of the house and walked towards our front porch. I knew for sure that whatever I told my mother, I meant from the bottom of my heart. Ma didn't seem repulsed with the idea of there being a 'Dev and I' and for now, that's the only approval I needed.
Pulling out my phone, I dialled a number I knew byheart at this point. Dev Sanghvi's.